Wow, can you believe that we are already into May? I can't believe how fast time has gone. I don't even remember what happened in April! Things have continued to be busy at school as well as on the weekends. Since we are coming to the end of the year there are many staff members who will be leaving Taiwan this summer so we have been taking advantage at our time we have left. From now until the first weekend in July there is only one weekend that we haven't planned something. I have many fun and exciting adventures in the near future.

This week I booked my flights for my trip to the Philippians at the end of May. I am going with the 2 of the other teachers staying for next year. We are taking a week to relax on white sand beaches with turquoise water....sounds heavenly!! I can't wait! You can count on lots of pictures. We still have some more details to get booked before we leave though! This week I also booked another important flight.....my flight home!!!!! It is official I will be home from July 2 - July 24! I seriously can't wait to get home and see everyone!!! Make sure you pencil me in so I am able to see you for the 3 weeks I am home!! So far I haven't made any big plans. I do plan on having a very casual Welcome Home/Send Off. As soon as something is planned I will let everyone know.

As school we have been busy with testing students for next years placements. They have to take so many tests! Testing is a big part of schooling here. Starting from elementary school they have pressure to do well on tests. It is sad because I don't remember being stressed about a test until college, maybe a few high school tests. My third graders come to school stressed out about their big tests they need to take. The pressure only gets worse as they move towards middle school and high school when they take placement tests to get into the best schools.

We have also been busy compiling a class writing portfolio. Each class creates a portfolio of writing samples from the year. It is basically their year book for English school. It is a cool idea but lots of work and time. Each student needs to write 2 nice copies of their writings. And this isn't normal 3rd grade writing. In my accelerated class I have students who have 2-3 pages of writing! After they write their final copies it is the teachers job to make it look nice! SO MUCH WORK!! It will be nice to get it done!

My past couple weekends have been spent in Taichung. Two weeks ago there was a big Chili Cook Off. It was put on by 2 foreigner run bars. We spent the afternoon eating some chili and enjoying some drinks. It was crazy to see how many foreigners were there. I rarely see foreigners in my day to day life so it is crazy to see so many of them in one place. It is a nice change but still weird. This past weekend on the bars that we frequent was having a free BBQ! It was awesome! The weather was beautiful, they had live music and the food was great. It was nice to enjoy an afternoon out with some great friends!

Well that is all for now....I will try my best to keep up with my blog with all the fun weekend trips planned!